Apprentice Software Developer at Bright Future Software

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

2/10

When I applied for the job role it was stated that it would be a mix of 6 months commercial work and 6 months coursework. This was not true,I was there for 8 Months before i left and had not completed any commercial work within this time. We were completing course work every day in what seemed like class rooms.

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

3/10

I learnt confidence while at Bright future as there are a lot of other apprentices working here, my IT knowledge grew a small amount amount as we touched across all areas.

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

4/10

I enjoyed the programme not because of the work place but because of the people i was working with (the other apprentices), the training wasn't teaching us anything it was just ensuring we could pass the course work

4. How valued do you feel by Bright Future Software?

1/10

I did not feel valued at Bright Future, I felt like i was just another apprentice they had managed to sign up, assessors and management didn't really know you and wouldn't talk too much and did't feel like a friendly place.

5. How well organised/structured is your programme?

2/10

The programme if advertised as coursework or another college was good, we got through a lot of work in the short time frame, but there was no commercial work for the company to hand to more than 200 apprentices. The support we got of the teachers was great and help received from them to get a grade in the course work was good but most of the support we got was from the groups we were put in from the start.

6a. How much support do you receive from your training provider?

3/10

The training provider was my employer which did feel strange, there wasn't much support from the assessment staff or from the management staff.

6b. How much support do you receive from your employer?

3/10

The training provider was my employer which did feel strange, there wasn't much support from the assessment staff or from the management staff.

7. How well does your salary/package meet your costs?

2/10

While i was working there is wasn't getting much, i had to work another part time job to keep up with costs of travel and accommodation. With expenses of food and travel for the week I was coming home with around £40 a week which isn't much to live off.

8. Are there many opportunities outside of work?

4/10

The qualification bright future offers does unlock a lot of doors for university, there were a lot of event held around media city so it wasn't bad in that case.

9. Would you recommend Bright Future Software to a friend?

No

9b. Why?

although I enjoyed my time at bright future i was disappointed and do feel i have wasted 8 months of my time.

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Bright Future Software?

Keep in mind that you wouldn't be working but learning for the first year, other apprentices in the group have stayed in touch and completed there first year and still haven't managed to get any commercial work.